Author: Bunny

Barbie Girl // Book Recommendations For Barbie

- Bunny 1 Comment

Hi Friends,
The Barbies movie is out! So, I thought it would be fun to give everyone’s favorite doll some book recommendations. These are books that I think Barbie would thoroughly enjoy.


Something From Tiffany’s by Melissa Hill
This is a holiday read that Barbie would find to be a great holiday romance. I mean, jewelry is a big part of the story, and being that Barbie is a major fashionista, I think that she’d be a Tiffany’s lover.
Related Post: Something From Tiffany’s // Book Review


The Do-Over by Lynn Painter
First off, the cover of this book is pink, and we all know that Barbie is a pink lover. Secondly, Barbie would love this fun, lighthearted young adult romance. The main character is usually so put together, just like Barbie, so I think she’d like seeing someone with a similar personality playing the rebel, for once.
Related Post: The Do-Over // Book Review


So This Is Love by Elizabeth Lim
Barbie has got to be a fan of Disney Princesses, right? Out of all the Twisted Tales books I’ve read, I think that the one featuring Cinderella would interest Barbie the most, since like Barbie she is hard working and kind.
Related Post: So This Is Love // Book Review


12 to 22: POV You Wake Up in the Future! by Jen Calonita
Not even going to lie – this book screams Barbie. It has tons of pop culture references, and is a modern day remake of a beloved teen film. Something tells me that Barbie would enjoy reading a new version of ‘13 Going On 30’. Even though the book might cater to a younger audience, it would be a book she’d read in one sitting.
Related Post: 12 to 22 // Book Review


The Prince and Pauper by Mark Twain
I had to recommended this book, if only for the fact that I was obsessed with Barbie’s ‘Princess and The Pauper’ movie. However, I do think Barbie would enjoy this classic story of two look-alikes swapping places. She’d might even wonder if she has a double out there somewhere.

In the comments, let me know if you’re excited for the live-action Barbie movie! Personally, I think it’s going to be pretty cheesy and cringey, but a good time. Don’t forget to share this post with other book lovers.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

Rock Paper Scissors | Book Review

- Bunny Leave a comment

About The Book
 Things have been wrong with Mr and Mrs Wright for a long time. When Adam and Amelia win a weekend away to Scotland, it might be just what their marriage needs. They both know this weekend will make or break their marriage, but they didn’t randomly win this trip. One of them is lying, and someone doesn’t want them to live happily ever after. Ten years of marriage. Ten years of secrets. And an anniversary they will never forget.
Buy The Book: https://amzn.to/3rATkPq

My Rating

I didn’t know what to expect when going into this book, but I had heard that it was a wild ride. In this book, we follow a couple, Adam and Amelia, that wins a trip to Scotland. This trip will either fix or break their already strained marriage. But, the couple soon realize this gateway might not be just for the two of them.

The book has an isolation setting plot, which I have learned that I’m not the biggest fan of. Yet, I think it worked well for the plot. The book is also somewhat of dual timelines. We get letters written to Adam by his wife, for each of their anniversaries. These letters help piece together what has lead their marriage to the breaking point.

Another interesting aspect is that Adam has face blindness. I had never even heard about the illness until this book, and it is very interesting. And, it really added another element to the story that was needed to tie everything together.

For me the plot was super interesting,= and the characters were written well. My biggest complaint is that the book was slow moving. I wanted it to be more fast-paced, and have things progress quicker than they did. But, I think that’s just my preference when reading thrillers.

“If every story had a happy ending, then we’d have no reason to start again.”

There were some twists, and the ending was shocking to say the least. I didn’t actually see the last twist coming at all. Maybe a more skilled thriller or mystery reader would have figured things out, but I was just along for the roller coaster that is this book.

I have heard from other people that Alice Feeney is a very hit-or-miss author, but I think that’s the case for a lot of thriller writers. It really depends on the approach they take with their plot twists and characters. However, the same could be said for pretty much all books.

Overall, I had a good time reading the book, and I’m glad that I finally got around to picking it up. If you like a good plot twist and isolation setting thriller, then I’d give this one a read. I’m for sure going to be reading more by Alice Feeney in the near future.

In the comments, tell me which of Alice Feeney’s books is your favorite. Don’t forget to like and share this post with others! If you enjoy book reviews, then follow the blog to get notified whenever there’s a new post.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

Xmas Evil in July 2023 // To Be Read

- Bunny 4 Comments


Hi Friends,
I am doing another readathon! I know, two readathons in one month, who am I? I will be taking part in the ‘Xmas Evil in July’ readathon that will run from July 16th – 31st. This is a Christmas in July inspired readathon, which I am here for. There are only three reading prompts, so they should be fairly easy to complete.

Read a Holiday Book
The first prompt is simple enough and that’s to just read any holiday book. I am most likely going to read ‘All I Want For Christmas‘ by Maggie Knox. I read ‘The Holiday Swap‘ by Knox last year and loved it, so I have high hopes for this book. However, I might pick up ‘Tis The Season For Revenge’ by Morgan Elizabeth as well (or instead of) but I’m not sure yet.
Related Post: The Holiday Swap // Book Review

Read a Book Set During Summer
This is a no brainer, because my Libby loan of ‘You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight‘ by Kalynn Bayron should be coming in very soon. I have been dying to read this summer YA slasher, and the audiobook is very short. I love a good short book for a readathon.

Read a Mood Read
Obviously, I can’t actually pick out a book for this prompt since I don’t know what I’m going to be in the mood for during the readathon. Although, I still need to read ‘The Summer of Broken Rules‘ by K. L. Walther, which is my book club read for the month. And, with the readathon taking place during the last two weeks of July, it might be nice to get one of my last summer reads out of the way.

There you have my quick little TBR. I will be trying to complete the photo prompts over on Instagram, so if you are not already following me, you should be. Of course, I’m @Books.With.Bunnys on the social media platform. For more details on the readathon, you can visit @xmasevilreadathon on Instagram. Don’t forget to show my blog some love by hitting the follow button before you leave.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

Reading Wrap-Up // Summerween 2023

- Bunny Leave a comment


Hi Friends,
The Summerween readathon is over, and if you have no idea what I’m talking about, you should go read my Sunmerween TBR post. But, for the week of Summerween, I ended up reading 3 books, and completing all the prompts.

‘Lying in the Deep’ by Diana Urban
I was originally going to read ‘Every Last Fear’ by Alex Finlay for the ‘Read a Thriller’ prompt, but I had this audiobook on my Libby, so I decided to pick this one up. It’s a YA thriller/mystery, more mystery than thriller, but it is categorized as a thriller, so it counts. I did end up finishing this book, but it wasn’t my favorite read.

‘Fence’ Vol. 2 by C.S. Pacat and Johanna the Mad
I have become a big fan of this graphic novel series, so for the ‘Read a Graphic Novel, Manga, or Novella’ prompt I knew that I had to read volume 2. I finished this quickly, and enjoyed it.

‘The Haunting of Aveline Jones’ by Phil Hickes
This book filled two prompts: ‘Read a Book That Takes Place in the Fall’ and ‘Read a Book With Black and/or Orange on the Cover’. I really like this spooky middle-grade, and I can’t wait to read the other books in this series.

On the last day of the readathon, I ended up starting ‘Every Last Fear’. I only got about 20% into the audiobook, but so far it has me intrigued.

Let me know in the comments, if you participated in Summerween. Also, I vlogged each day of the readathon over on my TikTok account (@BooksWithBunny). Before you go hit the follow button, so that you never miss a post.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue // Book Review

- Bunny Leave a comment

About The Book
 A Life No One Will Remember. A Story You Will Never Forget. France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever—and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue. But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.
Buy The Book: https://amzn.to/3OdHNP2

My Rating

I had heard that this book was beautifully written with an addictive plot. Well, I do agree that that the writing was fantastic. V.E. Schwab is a wonderful author, but since I’ve read her Cassidy Blake trilogy, written as Victoria Schwab, I already knew that I loved her writing style. The writing might be one of the best things about this book.

Schwab has a way of pulling you into the story write from the first chapter. The book started off wonderful, and I wanted to know what was going to happen next. In the book, we follow a young girl named Addie LaRue, who in 1714 makes a deal with a demon. One that has lasting consequences. She shall live forever, but never be remembered by anyone.

Now tell me that plot doesn’t sound intriguing? Of course, Addie does end up meeting a boy who, by some miracle. remembers her. And, thus a romance develops. I didn’t mind the romance, but I’m not actually sure if I liked Addie or her love interest, Henry. However, I enjoyed watching the fall in love and understand each. One of my all time favorite quotes is “The greatest feeling in this world is knowing you actually mean something to someone.” And, I think that describes their relationship.

On the other hand, we have Luc who is the demon that made the deal with Addie. The book shows that they share somewhat of a bond, but their relationship is more of want vs need. Although, I will say I have a thing for a dark, mysterious bad boy so I was team Luc. And, I have no shame in saying that.

“If no one heard it, did it happen?
If a person cannot leave a mark, do they exist?”

The plot was actually pretty heartbreaking, yet I didn’t find myself crying. A big message with in the story is that sometimes the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. Every choice has consequences and your life might be worse for it. That being said, love played a big part in the story mainly what you’d do for true love.

There was some LGBT representation in the book, but I would say mental health was very prevalent in the plot. Interestingly enough the mental health aspect worked well in this primarily magic realism story. Also, Addie had to do some questionable things throughout her life. Some of those things could be triggering to be. As I always say, please do your research, and look up trigger warnings before reading the book.

I think my major problems with this book, and the reason I didn’t rate it super high, is the pacing. The chapters were so long and the book it self felt very slow. As a reader, I am all about fast paced books especially when it comes to fantasies. And, this one just took me way too long to finish. Also, I’m normally fine with dual timelines but I found myself getting a bit confused with all the jumping around through time with in the story.

Overall, the book is a solid story, that I didn’t hate whatsoever. The plot was very interesting, and the writing was top notch. Not sure how I feel about the end, but I enjoyed my reading experience nonetheless. And, I will most certainly be reading more from this author.

In the comments, let me know if you think this book deserves all the hype behind it. Don’t forget to give this post a like, and share it with other book lovers. Support my little book blog by giving it a follow.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

Queen Of The Tiles | Book Review

- Bunny 1 Comment

About The Book
 They Wish They Were Us meets The Queen’s Gambit in this thriller set in the world of competitive Scrabble, where a teen girl, Najwa, is forced to investigate the mysterious death of her best friend, Trina, when her Instagram comes back to life with cryptic posts and messages. As secrets are revealed and the true colors of her friends are shown, it’s up to Najwa to find out who’s behind these mysterious posts—not just to save Trina’s memory, but to save herself.
Buy The Book: https://amzn.to/3JPKLGS

My Rating

I hadn’t heard anything about this book before going into it. Also, I don’t really know anything about Scrabble, except that I would probably lose in a Scrabble competition. In the book we follow, Najwa who is competing in her first Scrabble tournament since her best friend’s death. Her best friend, Trina, was known around the teen Scrabble circuit as the Queen of the Tiles.

As you can probably guess, with this being a mystery thriller and all, that Najwa starts to wonder if her best friend was murdered for her ‘Scrabble crown’. Like in any sport, people will do anything to be number one. Najwa was an okay character, yet a little on the naive side, for my liking. But, we got to know a lot about her and her best friends relationship.

Let’s just say that in their friendship Najwa wasn’t the main character. However, Najwa didn’t really seem bitter about being the supporting character, but should could understand the desire to dethrone the scrabble queen. But, you could tell that she was still grieving the loss of her friend, and winning the scrabble competition, in honor of her BFF was her way of coping.

The mystery was interesting, and I didn’t want to put the book down. However, the plot in general was slow moving, and nothing really gripped me. Although, I did like learning more about Scrabble. It’s a pretty competitive and strategic game. One I’ve actually never played.

“And the idea that Scrabble is still there for me, grounding me through everything that’s going on, is comforting.”

Grief is a being topic in the book, which is a little strange for a murder mystery. And, I think the fact that it was such a huge plot point in the book could be why it felt so slow. More on the side of a contemporary vs a mystery. But, I will say that at its root it is a solid mystery thriller.

It’s hard to say if I liked the ending or not. Because, I’m someways it was completely expected and easy to see coming. On the other hand, it was a little shocking, especially since there were times when we were giving the element of an unreliable narrator. So I’m torn.

Overall, I found the book to be a pretty good read. The writing was nice and the plot was very well done. Although, I’m not sure if I liked the writing style enough to read more from this author. But, if you are newer to the YA mystery genre, I’d recommend this book.

In the comments, let me know if you enjoy a good game of Scrabble. Don’t forget to follow the blog to get notified whenever there’s a new post!

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

Summerween 2023 // To Be Read

- Bunny Leave a comment


Hi Friends,
I know that I’ve just posted my July TBR, but July 7th was the start of Summerween! If you’d don’t know what Summerween is, you’re missing out. For all the details on the readathon, you can watch Gabby from GabbyReads announcement video on Youtube. Basically, this is just a week-long readathon that is all about bringing the spooky season into summer, hence the name: Summerween. There are only a few prompts, and I think my TBR is quite manageable to participate in a week long readathon.

Read A Thriller:
For this prompt I’m going to be reading ‘Every Last Fear’ by Alex Finlay, which, as you might know, is already on my July TBR. Why not kill two birds with one stone?

Read A Book Set In Fall: –and– Read A Book With Orange Or Black On The Cover:
Now I could be completely wrong, but I think that ‘The Haunting of Aveline Jones’ by Phil Hickes takes place in the fall. There are even leaves on the cover, and the color orange. So, I’m going to be using the book for two prompts.

Read A Manga, Graphic Novel, Or Novellla:
Last month, I started the ‘Fence’ graphic novel series by C.S. Pacat. I’m on volume 2, so I’ll probably end up reading that during the readathon.

There is one more prompt, which is simply to read at night or in the dark. I didn’t pick a specific book for that because I’ll probably use one of my already picked books to complete that prompt.

In the comments, let me know if you are also participating in Summerween. What’s on your TBR? Don’t forget to like this post and follow my blog!

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

Anticipated Releases // Summer 2023

- Bunny 3 Comments

Hi Friends,
Today, I’m going to be talking about my summer anticipated book releases! This years has been full of amazing book releases. I cannot wait to read all of these books! I’m hopeful that I will get to at least some of these new releases this summer, because they all sound so good. But, I do want to preface that I only have limited knowledge of what each of these books are about. What can I say, I like to go into books a little blind.


Summer Rental by Rektok Ross (June 13th): This book is tag-lined as Mean Girls meets Scream, which is all I need to know. I believe that it’s a YA thriller about a group of friends trapped on an island with a serial killer. I’m thinking it’s going to be more of a campy thriller, which I can get behind.

The Only One Left by Riley Sager (June 20th): I’ve been wanting to get into Riley Sager books for a while now, and this one sounds amazing. The book takes place in the 80’s, where we’re following Kit. She is a home health aid for Lenora, an old woman that is unable to speak or move anything but her left hand, due to polio. Here’s the kicker, as a teenager Lenora was accused of killing her parents and sister, yet she was never charged with their murders. Soon Kit starts to suspect that Lenora might be more dangerous than she thinks. My interest is piqued!

The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston (June 27th): I’m not sure how I feel about this book, because it’s giving off serious ‘The Lake House’ vibes. If you have no clue what I’m talking about, ‘The Lake House’ is a movie starring Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves, in which they both live in the same house, but in different timelines, and somehow they end up communicating with one another. This book follows what seems to be a similar plot. Although, I didn’t love the movie, I know that Poston’s adult romance ‘The Dead Romantics’ was a big hit last year, so I want to give this book a chance.

Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon (July 4th): I’m actually very excited for this book, because the premise sounds really funny. This is an adult romance following a ghost writer and a C-list actor, who have a less-than-satisfactory one-night stand. Cue some “lessons in satisfaction” and it sounds like a winning plotline to me. I haven’t read anything by this author before, but I’ve heard some good things about her books. Also, who doesn’t like mixing a little pleasure with business every now and again.

Ghosted: A Northanger Abbey by Amanda Quain (July 25th): As you can tell from the title, this is a Northanger Abbey by Jane Austin retelling. It is a young adult story about a high school senior, and there’s a ghost hunting element. That’s pretty much all I know about this book, which, according to GoodReads, has X-Files vibes to it.

One of Us Is Back by Karen M. McManus (July 25th): Why do I feel like I’ve talked about this book a lot? Probably, because it’s one of my most anticipated releases of the entire year. If you’ve read my blog for any amount of time, then you know that Karen M. McManus is on of my favorite authors! She writes some of the best (at least, in my opinion) young adult mystery thrillers. This is the next, and possibly last, installment book is part of her ‘One of Us is Lying” series, and I could not be any more ready for it.

The Trap by Catherine Ryan Howard (August 1st): This is a psychological thriller set in Ireland. It follows Lucy, who is trying to uncover what happened to her sister Nicki that disappeared a year ago. The book is inspired by a series of still-unsolved disappearances that took places in the 90’s. The fact that there’s a real world element to these books makes the plot even more exciting.

Delicate Condition by Danielle Valentine (August 1st): I was stoked to find out that Danielle Valentine was coming out with another horror novel. Last year, I read her book ‘How To Survive Your Murder’ in about a day. It was such a fun, campy, slasher horror book. However, this book is an adult thriller, which I’m typically more of a fan of. I also heard that it is the basis for the next season of American Horror Story. And, as a reader, I have to read the book before watching the show. It’s practically a law.

Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney (August 3rd): I’ve only read ‘Rock Paper Scissors’, which I did really like. But, she is known as the queen of plot twists, so I’m looking forward to picking this book up. The book follows two crimes which, despite happening twenty years apart, are somehow linked. This book is said to have a lot of twists, and let’s face it, the twists are what make a good thriller.

Foxglove by Adalyn Grace (August 22nd): This is the sequel to ‘Belladonna’, which was a fantastic YA fantasy. The first book ended on a cliffhanger, and I cannot wait to find out what happens next. Honestly, ‘Belladonna’ shocked me with how good it was, so I’m hoping that the next installment doesn’t let me down. Other than the fact that it’s a sequel, I actually don’t know much about the plot, but I’m okay with that.

There you have my summer 2023 most anticipated book releases. of course there are a ton more releases I want to get to, but these are the ones at the top of my list. In the comments, share your most anticipated book release with me. Don’t forget to hit the follow button before you leave.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

July 2023 // To Be Read

- Bunny 1 Comment

Hi Friends,
Happy July! I am excited to be doing my July TBR, and yes I know I said I was going to stop doing TBRs, but the planner girl in me just can’t stop. But, I want to make my TBR a little more fun. I found a numbered list of prompts from Pinterest, and used a random number generator to pick my prompts. Also, I used a random number generator between 1 – 10 to see how many to pick. Here’s the catch – I can only pick books off my physical TBR or audiobooks I own via Kobo or Audible. First up the random number generator gave me 6, which means I’m picking 6 prompts and reading 6 books. But, to make things more interesting if I get the same prompt, twice I have to add a book. Let’s see how this goes.

This first number I got was 8, which is ‘A Book Set In The Decade You Were Born’! I’m very happy for this because I’m a nineties girl and I just bought ‘Throwback’ by Maurene Goo on audiobook. It’s about a teen girl that is sent back to the 90s to help her teenage mother. I can’t wait for all the 90s references.
Related Post: The Way You Make Me Feel // Book Review

Next up, I got the number 3 and the prompt is ‘A Book Outside Your Comfort Genres’.
I decided to go with ‘Talking as Fast as I Can’ by Lauren Graham. I barely read memoirs, or rather, nonfiction in general, but I own this book and I am probably the biggest Gilmore Girls fan ever. And, it’s read by Lauren Graham, which is amazing.

The next number was 9 giving me the prompt ‘A Book That’s Been On Your TBR For 2 Or More Years’. This was more difficult than I thought it would be, because I’m only picking from my owned books. But, I decided to go with ‘As Old As Time’ by Elizabeth J. Braswell. This is a part of the Twisted Tales series, which is essentially a book series of different middle-grade/young adult Disney retellings. From the title you can probably guess that this book is a ‘Beauty and the Beast’ retelling.
Related Post: Part Of Your World // Book Review

Thankfully we got the number 22, because the prompt was ‘A Book By An Auto-Buy Author’. There are so many authors that have become favorites of mine over the last year. Originally, I was going to pick ‘One Of Us Is Back’ by Karen M. Mc Manus, since I pre-ordered the book. But, since it doesn’t come out until the end of the month, I’m going to go with something else. So, my pick is ‘Every Last Fear’ by Alex Finlay, which is the author of ‘The Night Shift’, a book that I loved.
Related Post: The Night Shift // Book Review

Luck was on my side once again, by giving me the number 15. The prompt was ‘Read A Retelling’. If you know me than you know I love retellings, so my pick is ‘The Wicked Ones‘ by Robin Benway. This is a retellings following the evil stepsisters from Cinderella. It happens to be another one of my Kobo audiobooks.

Last, but certainly not least, I got the number 28, which was the prompt ’Read A YA’. Simple enough. I am going easy on myself here, and pick a book that I just started, which is ‘Kisses and Croissants‘ by Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau. This is a YA contemporary set at a ballet school in Paris.

The only thing left is to talk about my Novellic book club pick, which is ‘The Summer of Broken Rules‘ by K. L. Walther. You can join my Reading Rabbits book club on the Novellic app!

I hope you liked this fun little TBR! In the comments, share your July TBR. Don’t forget to follow my blog if you enjoy bookish content like this.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

Mooncakes // Mini Book Review

- Bunny 2 Comments

About The Book
 Nova Huang knows more about magic than your average teen witch. One fateful night, she follows reports of a white wolf into the woods, and she comes across the unexpected: her childhood crush, Tam Lang, battling a horse demon in the woods. As a werewolf, Tam has been wandering from place to place for years, unable to call any townhome. Their latent feelings are rekindled against the backdrop of witchcraft, untested magic, occult rituals, and family ties both new and old in this enchanting tale of self-discovery.
Buy The Book: https://amzn.to/44K6h7Z

My Rating

This book has so much representation, and I love it! Not only are the two main character part of the LGBT+ community, but we’ve got deaf representation, and even talk about using the correct pronouns. Also, it’s a graphic novel about witches and werewolves. Need I say more?

In the book, we follow a witch name Nova, who reconnects with her childhood crush Tam,  a werewolf who is hiding from dark force that is trying to take her werewolf powers.

I loved how Nova was instantly willing to help Tam and give her a place to call home. Honestly, it showed that home isn’t necessarily a place, but mainly people. Although their relationship was cute, the magical part of the plot was fun too.

“We can get you some tea and a spell for this.”

The book could put anyone in a fall mood. Not only does it have the magic element, but evil forces and werewolves positively scream autumn! The artwork does a wonderful job as well. The colors of scheme will make you feel like it’s fall no matter when you read it.

Overall, there isn’t a tone of depth, or a shocking twist to the story. However, it’s a cute, easy, one sitting read. It’s a great pickup for spooky season! And, I know a lot of people will enjoy that it includes the somewhat second-chance romance trope.

In the comments, let me know if you’ve read this book, and your thoughts on it. Don’t forget to hit the like button and share this post. If you’re a fan of bookish content, you should check out some of my other reviews. And, follow the blog so that you get notified whenever there’s a new post.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny